So the book is out

I'm interested to hear more seasoned writers' (than I) views on this. For me it was a very difficult time, even though I did have trade reviews and some other stuff. Whatever you have, you always want MORE, and the crickets are deafening.

I also did not troll the web, Google myself, etc. I was afraid of what I might find. But I did have a writer friend collect positive Amazon/Goodreads reviews and send them to me. That can be encouraging.

Other things you can do: set up library talks and/or school visits (if your book is for kids or has an educational component), send copies to niche bloggers/reviewers (who may care less about pub date), contact local book festivals.

But really, what saved me was Writing the Next Thing. Reading for inspiration is also good. Besides, doesn't a new book (and/or a paperback edition of the old book) open a new sales window?

For me, I notice that it depends on the publisher. My first two books hardly got any reviews. My third book didn't do much better. But my fourth book, with a mid-size publisher, I had several reviews. My book has been published almost 3 years now and it still gets reviews. But there was a long, long stretch were I wasn't getting any at all. Then I got 3 reviews in one month. I think though, that is because I have another book coming out.

You can work on promoting your book a little more. Do you have Twitter and a Goodreads account? I also think like Fuchsia said, working on the next book would be a good idea.

I think what helped the fourth book do so good with reviews is because my publisher put it on Netgalley. You can't really do it now since your book is out, but for future books, you might want to look into it.

Also having a sig line for your books would help drive people to it.

A decent trade publisher will make damn sure you have plenty of reviews before the thing even hits the shelves - that's what ARCs / galleys / NetGalley are for.

Book releases are nerve-wracking I know, but once your baby has been through proofs there really isn't much more you can do other than promote the hell out of it and hope it's well received.

Right off the top of my head I have to stay that $30 for a Kindle book is really, REALLY high. You might want to discuss this with the publisher as far as bringing the price down.

Other than that - Goodreads is a good place to buy ads and don't forget to Tweet about your book no more than once a day or so - don't spam, but mix it in with your other tweets.

Good luck!

Also too Goodreads giveaways helped me a ton. You might want to look into that too. Especially if you have some print copies to give out.

I think you're definitely writing for a niche, yes. If your publisher is the British "multinational" described on Wikipedia, then as an academic publisher they are certainly aiming for those specialized institutional markets. This is apt to make things rather slow in terms of reviews, etc.

You might, if you felt inclined, work on building academic connections in your field who would be interested in reviewing your book for their institutional journals; but in general, I would just concentrate on the next book.

I used to be in academia, and I bought lots of Routledge books (mostly obscure studies of postmodern this-or-that). They were carried by university and college-town bookstores and priced (somewhat) more cheaply, so maybe this one is intended more for the classroom? Anyway, as L.C. Blackwell said, you might target the editors of journals in the field of American popular music who could be seeking potential textbooks to review. Or try setting up talks at universities via faculty member friends/contacts. From what I've heard, rock is always a popular subject in music departments.

When no one is talking about your book than you should. Don't think that your work is not good enough. Write, read, write, read. Engage into social media conversations, provoke a discussion on topics covered by your book. One new reader is +1. Good luck!

I've moved this thread to Book Promotions: Ideas and Advice where I think it will find a lot more readers.

Sheryl Nantus said:

Right off the top of my head I have to stay that $30 for a Kindle book is really, REALLY high. You might want to discuss this with the publisher as far as bringing the price down.

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popmuze said:

That's the softcover price. The hardcover goes for $130. I think this might be aimed at the college and library markets.

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The Amazon link you provided lists the prices as $27.89 for the Kindle edition, $32.41 for the paperback, and $140 for the hardback. So yep, that IS a really high price for the Kindle edition--but the hardback edition is also hugely high.

With those prices your book is not being pointed at the book trade. It's not a book which book shops will stock. So your promotional efforts are going to be limited, as you're not necessarily going to be able to give talks to book groups, for example. Your publisher should have done some marketing: have you asked how they've marketed and promoted it? Have you contacted their publicity department to ask how you can help them? It's probably too late for you to do this now, as the book is already published: but what you can do is think about who might buy it, and how you can reach them. If it's suitable for college courses, email the tutors who work those courses. If there are clubs and associations which might be a fit, offer to go and give talks (or Skype talks--the UK's Society of Authors is having a lecture-by-Skype course soon). Be creative. You might be surprised by how much you could do.

That's an academic price for a textbook; this book isn't even going to be stocked by most book stores.

You're absolutely going to have to do some niche marketing; I'd start by finding out how people can get review copies; even .pdf or Kindle would help.

You're going to have to find out what organizations and journals faculty who teach music culture/history/appreciation classes read and participate in. You want your book reviewed places that they read and follow.

Consider how it might work as an ancillary text for American History and pop culture classes, and work on positioning it for those buyers/readers.

If you don't blog, start a niche blog focusing on content related to your book (without relentlessly pimping your book).

See if you can go to an academic conference related to the book, and present/speak at the conference (for free; this is not a paying gig). The value of this is that you can list your book in your bio.

popmuze said:

That's them. With this book they're trying to edge into the popular market, but not too adept at it.

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If they want to get this (or any) book into the trade market, there are 2 things they need to do.

1) The paperback should be priced at no more than $20, and preferably between $15 and $18.

2) They need to make it available to bookstores. As an academic publisher, general bookstores aren't going to be ordering from them directly. At the very least, the book needs to be available to stores through Ingram (and maybe other wholesalers like Baker & Taylor) at standard discounts. I looked it up and Ingram shows that it is possible for a store to order the hardcover but it is backorder only (meaning that it isn't in Ingram's warehouses - the bookstore orders it and then Ingram orders one from the publisher, so it may be weeks before it actually gets to the store). It also has a short discount of only 10% and is nonreturnable. These terms are typical for academic publishers through Ingram, but they basically mean that, at best, some stores may be willing to order it if a customer special orders it and pre-pays.

According to Ingram, the paperback is listed as "Not Yet Available" despite a pub. date of 3/7/17. It also has only a 10% discount.

If they've given you the impression that they're trying to reach a wider market, I'd be curious to hear how. As an academic/niche press, they are legit and established, but nothing I see indicates any practical effort to get into the trade market. A lot of university presses have trade imprints now, publishing books that are priced for the general market and available at standard discounts to stores through wholesalers and even distributors. If Routledge wants to do this, they need to change their prices, offer better terms, and try to get industry reviews so bookstores can at least consider carrying the books.

You can't push them in that direction. They know what they publish, and are not trade publishers. They're academic publishers. You can't reasonably promote your book to the book trade, because of the pricing and the discounts and the lack of returnability. Therefore your only option is to find out who might buy it with all these terms in place, and try to promote to them. The academic market has its own challenges but it is there.

Would it be worth using much of the same material for a book aimed at the trade market? Obviously not just copy and pasted across but arranged more appropriately for the non-academic market.